This invention relates to a system for indicating horizontal orientation of an operator under conditions of impaired visibility. More particularly, this invention relates to a system partially mounted on headgear or equipment (dive masks, goggles, firefighting masks, helmets, head straps, backpacks, portable equipments) for indicating horizontal orientation or azimuth of a operator-wearer (diver and other workers) for real-time evaluations and advice by remote observers.
Some skilled workers such as divers, miners, rescue personnel etc. frequently perform their physically demanding tasks under highly dangerous and confined conditions that may include limited visibility. Often, the dangers created by these conditions are exacerbated by technically sophisticated/dangerous equipment and other hazardous circumstances at the recovery or work site. During a strenuous and intensive effort, situations can arise outside of the expertise of the worker that need inputs from one or more cognizant experts to successfully complete a task. The effectiveness of the advice from the expert usually is based on information from the worker that is unmistakable.
For example, during salvage of complicated and highly explosive ordnance from great depths, divers often need technical assistance and guidance from structural experts concerning specifics of the construction of the craft that carried the ordnance to safely remove the items of interest. Technical assistance from ordnance experts may also be needed for safely handling and bringing the ordnance items to the surface after their removal.
The technical experts located a safe distance away can transmit needed technical information to a diver or other worker at the site by contemporary communication systems. However, since much of a work site can be at least partially obscured, the diver often may be unable to describe his location or the surrounding structures with sufficient accuracy to enable the distant experts to correctly evaluate the situation and properly advise the diver. Existing techniques for getting diver azimuth to surface require the diver to stop what he is doing, find his compass, orient compass, read compass (if possible) and verbally transmit reading to surface using a hardwire or acoustic communication system. This process is awkward, inefficient, prone to error, a potential safety hazard, and is not real time.
The experts on the surface may be unable to determine if a diver is looking one way toward one end of a submerged chamber at an empty container or the other way at a similarly appearing container filled with unstable explosives at the other end of the chamber. Disastrous consequences could follow by giving the wrong technical advice since it is not clear exactly which way or where the diver is looking.
Thus, in accordance with this inventive concept, a need has been recognized in the state of the art for a system providing continuous, compass data representative of horizontal orientation or azimuth of a worker such as a diver and communicating this azimuth data to a remote location for evaluation and responsive action.